Wednesday, May 21, 2008

David vs. David

I don't think I've ever, ever, blogged about American Idol, even though my hubby and I have watched it religiously from the very first year. (Thank you, TiVo. That's how we do it: back when we had toddlers and babies under foot, we'd get them to bed and then have some time alone with Simon and company.)

However, I'm writing about it today because the final performance night yesterday got me riled up. That and I won't be able to watch the results live tonight, so I'm giving fair warning: if anyone spills the beans, I'll hunt them down. Don't tell me.

But I think I already know who will win. If pure talent were to take it, it would be David Cook. (Two of my girls spent a good hour last night voting for him repeatedly.) But I'm betting it'll be the other David instead, because Cook's got a couple of big things going against him:

1) He lacks the "he's so cute!" preteen girl vote,2) he didn't play to his strengths last night, and3) cutie-pie Archuleta did.

Sure, during the rest of the competition, shake things up, take risks. But on the FINALE? Play to your strengths, man! Cook's a rocker. He's got an awesome edge. Did he show any of that last night? No.

While I really enjoyed all three of Cook's performances (I was jammin' out to his rendition of a U2 classic), Archuleta hit the stage to win it. He saw the night for what it was: not just another week of the show, but his last and final chance to show off his strengths and get the votes.

Every one of Cook's songs would have done him well on any other week of the competition. The guy's dang talented and never once ended up in the bottom three, but on finale night, that's not enough; you have to be unbeatable. THE BEST. And he could have been the best last night. He HAS been the best before. But not last night.

Ah, well. I was hoping a rocker would win it finally. (Both Bo Bice and Chris Daughtry really deserved to go farther than they did.) Even when (Okay, okay, IF. We don't know yet) Archuleta takes the title, Cook will have a fantastic career ahead of him. I just wish he could also lay claim to the win, because over the last several months, he's proven that he's the greater talent.

He just didn't show that last night, more's the pity.

That said, Go Archuleta! He's a great kid, and I'm glad his childhood dream is coming true. I'd be far more upset if someone else from the show were in his shoes, someone whom I didn't think deserved it.

I must say that dang, time flies. The idea that little Davy grew up watching American Idol is a bit freaky.

I'm not old . . . I'm not old . . . I'm not old . . .

UPDATE: In a twist of fate, I ended up staying home and watching the finale with the entire family (except for #4, who opted to stay downstairs with The Little Mermaid and a bowl of popcorn to herself).YIPPEEEE!!!! Cook WON!Even though we were watching it live, we didn't know who won the moment it was announced. See, the finale always runs overtime, and our TiVo was set to record from 7 pm to 9 pm. We knew it'd go over, so when the warning dinged that it was going to change channels to record something else at 9:00, we just told it to cancel the recording and stay on Fox. But here's the thing: The TiVo technically stopped recording at 9:00 and then continued recording on the same channel, so right as Ryan said, "The winner of American Idol 2008 is David . . . " we got a 3-second blip of blackness and silence. The whole family screamed and jumped and gasped. We had to watch the crowd's reaction, trying to figure out who won. (The timing, people! Sheesh! NO other 3-second moment could have been worse.) Since both Davids handled it with such grace, you couldn't even tell the winner from their faces at first.Anyway, I was . . . AM (obviously) thrilled. Go Cook!

Okay, I'm going to have to beg to differ. IMHO, David Archuleta IS the better vocalist of the two. Period. Yeah, Cook has more of the rocker edge, but so what. I believe Archuleta will churn out hit after hit for the American Top 40 (is that still a radio show?) Anyhoo...I honestly love both singers for their unique talent and will be happy however it plays out tonight. And for the FIRST season ever, I believe that BOTH finalists have HUGE futures in the music industry. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. :)

Not so fast, Tami. :) It's not Cook's rocker edge that makes him a terrific singer. Did you hear his "Music of the Night"? Not a drop of rocker in that one, and holy smokes, was it incredicle. The dude has pipes.

But you're right on one thing--they both have brilliant careers ahead of them. It almost doesn't matter who wins. They'll both be household names.

1st: You say Cook lacks the "he's-so-cute!" 13-year-old factor. True, but that's not as big a factor as we've been led to believe. None of the six AI winners have been the he's-so-cute candidate. Who has been? Justin Guarini (2nd place), Clay Aiken (2nd Place), Josh Gracin (4th Place), Constantine Maroulis (6th Place), Ace Young (6th Place), and Blake Lewis (2nd Place). Please correct me if I've missed anyone. The 13-year-old girl vote just ain't as strong as people think it is.

2nd and 3rd: At this point, only a tiny percentage of people are going to be swayed by last night's performances. Very few people were on the fence last night. The only really swing voters are the Syesha fans. Where they go is anyone's guess. They could go for Davey (because they value good singing), or they could go to David (because they value strong performance). It's sixes.

Either way, here's two reasons Davey will lose:

1st: because he's done exactly the same thing for twelve weeks. He's done it very well, of course, but if you didn't like him on Day One, your not going to like him any more in the finals. He's show absolutely no versatility (in the two most notable occassions where he moved away from ballady stuff, he's done poorly). (I'm referring to "You're the Voice" and "With You".)

2nd: because he's polarizing. People either love him or hate him. They either love or hate his song choices; they either love or hate his 11-year-old look; they either love or hate his singing style (breathy, closed eyes, etc). David Cook, on the other hand, is nowhere near as polarizing, and he's consequently been able to pick up fringe fans.

SPOILER ALERT...if you're the only person on the planet who doesn't know yet...

Congratulations. You called it. And there were even some really great parts to the show tonight. Highlights for me:Brook White's duet (Graham Nash?)David C and ZZ Top (LOVED it!)The Mike Meyer thingThe Guitar Hero/Risky Business commercialsGladys Knight and The New Pips :)

I'm happy for David C...and they're both going to be crazy successful.

as a not so avid American Idol watcher (meaning I think I watched it...3 times this season) i'm not really qualified to say who was the BEST. however, i think you have to give David A. some credit. He's only 17. Just imagine what he'll be able to do--how much more versatile he can become--with more training. I guess either way both guys have careers ahead of them, so does who won really matter?

I'm not sure if I want to even voice an opinion. I actually liked both Davids a whole lot even though rock music speaks to me more. This is the first season that I wanted 2 people to win. I think they both deserved it.

I was a Cook fan, too (Archuleta being from utah wasn't enough to sell me on him) but I knew he was going to win and here's why: Simon made the rounds on talk shows and radio shows saying he "thought Cook deserved it more" because he was such a "nice and genuine" guy. Then Simon was brutal to Cook on the final Tuesday showdown, incurring mass sympathy votes from Cook fans. I think Simon played America. Or at least tried to. Cook probably would have one either way. I see conspiracies in everything, lol.

Glad you got your wish. I loved both of them, but I really think that Archuleta was the more talented vocally. Especially considering that he's so much younger and has still a lot of maturity and experience to come, I think his gift is more natural and impressive. But Cook's voice was WOWZA too! I also loved his graciousness. Great season, huh? Hard to wait till January to do it again!